Running Online Middle And High Schools: Caprice Young, CEO of KC Distance Learning (Part 7)

SM: Does the online environment change the social aspect of a course?

CY: In a lot of our public school classrooms there is peer pressure towards mediocrity. By taking classes online, students can work to their highest level. That is very beneficial for kids who would otherwise be pressured into underperforming. It works the other way, too. Kids who are having trouble can work on concepts a little bit longer.

SM: Do your courses start and stop at a certain time? You were talking about courses where the teachers meet with groups. That requires a schedule, correct?

CY: Our Keystone courses are a little different, but for other courses, at the beginning of the semester the teacher will poll the group to find out when the best time for group sessions. If a student can’t make the session then they can review the recorded session online as well. They will not have been able to participate, but they will also not have missed class.

SM: They can then take courses on their own time without a specified start and end; however, there are sections that allow them to participate as a group as well. Is that a good summary?

CY: For our public school courses that is correct. Out private Keystone school is a bit different. Students can start the school year anytime they want. They have 12 months from when they sign up for the course to complete it. If they don’t do their work for three months, they can change their pacing schedule and it will tighten up their due dates.

When a student signs onto a course for the first time, the system asks them when they intend to start and finish the course. The system then creates all the due dates based on how long it takes to do all of the projects and sections. It makes the schedule for the students. If a student wants to do the course in one month, then they will have a very different pacing schedule than if they did the course in six months.

It might sound strange, but it is very common for our private school students to take five courses in sequence rather than taking five courses at the same time. Students prefer to concentrate on one subject at a time before moving on to the next course.

SM: It sounds as though you have students who progress and drive themselves.

CY: We have awesome students. We pride ourselves on our kids. Our valedictorian in Wisconsin this past year was a 14-year-old autistic student graduating three years early. His film is on its way to the Sundance Film Festival. These kids take life by storm. Another one of our students is running for governor in Wisconsin. He just turned 18 and is wrapping up his high school.

SM: Are your enrollments of these types of students increasing?

CY: Our experience is that the market is booming. The more families who have choices are making choices. Some people have said that it is not fair for families to have choices because they will not know how to choose. We are finding that families are choosing well because they want the best for their kids. That is leading to tremendous growth in this sector.

SM: Good luck, and thank you for sharing your story.

This segment is part 7 in the series : Running Online Middle And High Schools: Caprice Young, CEO of KC Distance Learning
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